Until getting off the car, Cloud was still in silence.
On the other hand, Barret returned to his usual passion. As soon as he jumped off the car, he looked up at the sky and roared, "This is really great!"
One had to admit, Barret's passion was extremely contagious; Jessie and the others also started cheering.
Then, Barret said again, "Before the next operation, everyone can act freely. Now, let's go eat something good to reward ourselves first!"
This time, Jessie and the others cheered even louder.
———
In front of Seventh Heaven, Tifa, like last time, was sitting on the steps with Marlene, waiting for Aiden and the others to return.
"Tifa sis, Dad and them won't be in danger, right?" Marlene lay on Tifa's thigh.
"Don't worry, they'll be fine. With Aiden and Cloud there, no matter what danger they encounter, they'll be able to handle it easily." Tifa comforted Marlene.
Though she said that, her eyes were full of worry. Although shortly after the collapse of Mako Reactor No. 1, Scarlet had sent her news that Aiden and the others had escaped successfully, she couldn't feel at ease until she saw them return safely.
"Aiden, you mustn't get hurt." Stroking Marlene's hair, Tifa murmured.
And just at that moment, several familiar figures slowly appeared from around the corner, walking toward Seventh Heaven.
Seeing their appearance, Tifa and Marlene immediately stood up and ran toward them.
"Daddy!" Although Marlene's legs were short, she wasn't slow at all, she was the first to rush into Barret's arms.
Then came Tifa, who directly hugged Aiden under Cloud's complicated gaze, and without caring about the people around them, gave him a kiss.
"Wah!" Marlene, now riding on Barret's shoulders, saw this scene and cried out while covering her eyes, but due to curiosity, she peeked through her fingers, staring without blinking.
"Kids shouldn't look." Jessie said somewhat sourly, "Aiden, Tifa, you two better watch it."
In fact, the moment Jessie spoke, Tifa had already let go of Aiden. She just got impulsive for a moment. Compared to Aerith, she was still rather shy in front of others.
On the other hand, Aiden was calm. It was just a kiss, not like they were doing something else, even if it was in front of a child, it wasn't something to worry about.
Of course, that's not to say he could be too certain, after all, Cloud was still there. No matter what, he had to consider his feelings.
The blush on Tifa's face had not yet faded. She said to everyone, "You've all worked hard. I've already prepared food and drinks for you. Go on in!"
"Alright!" Wedge and Biggs shouted and rushed in impatiently.
"Let's go, Cloud. You must be hungry after fighting all night, right?" Seeing Barret and Jessie already go inside, Aiden said to Cloud.
Cloud didn't speak. He just looked deeply at Aiden, then entered the Seventh Heaven bar.
Tifa's actions just now made him completely realize that in her heart, he no longer mattered as much as Aiden. The childhood memories hidden deep in his mind also blurred in that moment, he began to give up.
Since Tifa had already hung the "Closed for Rest" sign at the door in advance, there were no other guests in the bar. That gave them a good space to celebrate.
"Come, let's toast to our victory!" Barret raised his glass and shouted to Aiden and the others gathered at the table.
"Cheers!"
"Hey, what's wrong, Cloud? Why aren't you drinking? Is the food not to your liking? Tifa made it herself, you know. Even we don't usually get to eat her cooking." Barret finished his drink in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and seeing Cloud unmoving, asked.
"It's not that. I just want the promised reward." Cloud said indifferently.
"You want your reward now? You're such a buzzkill." Barret frowned but still turned to Tifa and said, "Tifa, is Cloud's reward ready?"
"Um, sorry, Barret. To support your operation, we've spent almost all the money. Right now, I only have, ah, only five hundred left." Hearing the mention of the reward, Tifa ran to the bar, opened the money drawer, counted it, and said apologetically.
"That's troublesome. Cloud has already mentioned the reward more than once." Barret sighed and turned to Cloud, "Cloud, I'm afraid we can't pay you in full all at once. How about paying one-fourth first?"
Cloud hesitated a bit and was about to nod when Aiden suddenly said, "I'll pay on Tifa's behalf."
"That won't do, Aiden. You're also one of our hires." Tifa said urgently, "Besides, how much money can selling flowers earn? It's not easy for you to save money."
"Yeah! Aiden, let us handle the money problem!" Jessie also chimed in.
"How much can selling flowers really earn?" Aiden smiled, walked up to Cloud, then flipped his wrist, and a stack of cash appeared in his hand.
"Barret, how much did you promise again?" Aiden asked while counting the money.
"Two thousand." Barret stared at the money in Aiden's hand in a daze. Don't be fooled by him leading a resistance group, he had never seen so much money at once in his life.
"Two thousand, right?" Aiden pulled out twenty 100-gil bills and handed them to Cloud, "Your reward."
Seeing Aiden handing him the money, Cloud didn't hesitate and took it, after all, it was what he was owed.
"Alright! The reward is settled, let's continue celebrating!" Aiden put away the rest of the money, clapped his hands, and said to everyone.
While Barret and the others were drinking hard, Tifa pulled Aiden outside.
"Here's five hundred. Take it first. I'll give you the rest bit by bit." As soon as they stepped out, Tifa stuffed the five hundred gil into Aiden's hand.
Aiden looked at the money in his hand, shook his head, then handed it back, saying displeased, "Do we still need to be so polite with each other?"
"But… we agreed that we'd pay you." Tifa said.
"This 'we' of yours, does it not include me?" Aiden asked back.
"Of course it does." Tifa said hurriedly.
"Then that's settled, Tifa. So, there's no need to repay the money." Aiden pinched Tifa's delicate and pretty nose. "You're already mine. Don't be so polite. Next time, don't do this again, got it?"
Tifa bit her lip, then nodded firmly.
"Can you stay the night?" After hugging for a while, Tifa asked hopefully.
Aiden was just about to nod, but then remembered that Aerith was probably waiting for him too, so he shook his head, "Sorry, Tifa, I…"
"It's okay, it's okay, no need to say it. I understand." How could Tifa not know what Aiden was about to say? This considerate woman stopped him mid-sentence, then smiled sweetly, "Then come when you have time."
Aiden nodded, then hugged Tifa even tighter.
———
[Late night, Sector 5, Aerith's house.]
In front of the dining table, Aerith yawned. Then she looked at the time, it was already past 1 a.m.
"Geez, still not back. The food's cold again." Aerith looked at the dishes on the table and grumbled. She had reheated the food three times already.
Just as she was about to get up to heat it for the fourth time, the door opened.
"Sorry, Aerith, I'm back late." Seeing Aerith sitting at the table, Aiden felt a pang in his heart. He knew she had been waiting a long time. He felt both touched and guilty as he spoke.
"It's okay. As long as you're back." Aerith didn't mind, because she was in an especially good mood. She stood up and said, "I'll heat the food for you."
"No need." Aiden walked over to the table, sat down, looked at the rich dishes on the table, picked up his chopsticks, and took a bite.
"How is it? Is it good?" Aerith propped up her chin, smiling as she looked at Aiden. Although this wasn't the first time she'd cooked for him, she asked every time.
"It's good." Back at Seventh Heaven, Aiden had been too busy drinking and had only casually eaten. He was already hungry.
"If it's good, you have to eat it all!" Aerith's eyes curved into a smile. She kept picking food for Aiden while talking nonstop,
"You worked hard today! Aiden, you guys really did it!"
"From now on, things will definitely get better!"
"In the future, let's always be like this!"
Aerith had a lot to say, chattering on as if she had been holding it in for a long time. Most of what she said was about dreaming of a bright future.
Aiden naturally understood what her words meant. The current Aerith was like a reborn person, she knew what would happen in the future and also knew her own fate.
Of course, calling her a reborn person might not be quite right. She was more like a prophet with memories of a parallel world, except she was a prophet who couldn't escape fate.
'If I hadn't appeared, she probably would have repeated the same path, then sacrificed herself on the journey to save the planet.' Aiden stared at Aerith, thinking.
Seeing Aiden pause his eating and keep staring at her, Aerith thought she was being too talkative and bothering him, so she shut her mouth.
But noticing the change in her, Aiden shook his head, grabbed her hand, and said, "It's okay, keep talking, I'm listening."
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